Zdenek Konvalina

Zdenek Konvalina (1980) works and lives in Berlin. Originally from Czech Republic, his academic studies were in theater and performing arts, now he blends his ballet roots with abstract expressionist painting. His work has been exhibited internationally in Germany, Holland, UK, Czech Republic, Canada and in the US.

His education in the performing arts from the Brno Conservatory, along with his sixteen-year ballet career, formed a solid foundation in his art philosophy, influencing his transition to painting. Transferring his disciplined approach to the canvas, Konvalina channels the energy of his ballet past, turning each painting into a dance frozen in time.

“These paintings are equally about the process, exploration of dynamics between a variety of tools and individually a pursuit of the realization of a subconscious notion, thought, form or shape, memory, reminder, movement or future note. In the end, each painting strives to tell its own story, be it a statement or just a realization of a certain chain of thoughts.

The process focuses on probing the dynamics of contrasting qualities [materially and metaphorically]: blurred and defined, distant and immediate, moving and still. And alongside using various tools [spray paint, brushes, oil sticks etc.] it allows for producing an ever-changing collection of marks, subsequently letting its’ own language to emerge. “